Osage Beach panhandling ordinance under review after federal lawsuit
Euphenie Andre
OSAGE BEACH, Mo. (KMIZ)
Osage Beach’s Board of Alderman on Thursday evening discussed the city’s panhandling ordinance.
The discussion comes months after a homeless couple filed a federal lawsuit against the city. Thursday’s meeting lasted about an hour-and-a-half, but discussion on the panhandling ordinance was brief because city leaders could not comment extensively on the ongoing litigation.
At 5:30 p.m., council members gathered to consider repealing the ordinance.
In January, Jackie and Brittany Pugh filed a lawsuit against the city, claiming they did not violate the panhandling ordinance after an Osage Beach officer allegedly stopped them from begging for money last year.
The city now plans to remove the existing ordinance completely.
“Our lawyer is out today, but he did let us know that the ordinance currently on file was written a long time ago. There’s a fine line between First Amendment rights and public safety. How close people are to the road, obstructing vehicles, and so on,” Mayor Michael Harmison said.
Because of these challenges, city leaders decided it would be more effective to start fresh rather than try to revise the old ordinance.
“The current policy has been on the books for a long time. Rather than try to rewrite it, it was best to remove it entirely and start drafting a new ordinance that better fits today’s society,” Harmison said.
Harmison said the city does not have a homeless problem, and the decision to rewrite the ordinance is focused on public safety, not targeting homeless individuals.
“We certainly don’t want to infringe on people’s First Amendment rights,” he said. “But if multiple people are obstructing traffic or being aggressive, that’s something that needs to be addressed.”